The Universal Subordination Of Women To Men - Essay Example

? The universal subordination of women to men Introduction The concept of female subordination is founded in early feminist anthropology with endorsed universal sexual asymmetry which is rooted in social systems and culture. The natural role of women in bearing and nurturing of children provides the basis for their subordination. Ciotlau? in her work on feminist anthropology found that the universality of female inferiority was rooted in the symbolic association of females as being closer to nature than men. Women’s role in bearing children makes them nature creators while men are associated with culture production. This paper explores the topic of female subordination to males within the social context (Ciotlau?, 2010, P.167). Traditionalist view Traditionalists argue that female subordination is universal and natural. This assertion is strengthened by religions, such as Christianity, which depict women as subordinate to men. They use the sexual asymmetry and the assignment of different tasks and roles to men and women, which is common in most human societies as proof for naturalness. Since women were assigned different biological functions as compared to men, they were also assigned different social tasks. If God or nature created sex differences which, in turn, determine the sexual division of labour, then nobody should object to sexual inequality and male dominance (Reeves, 1987, P.55). However, this claim has been disputed by anthropological evidence indicating that in hunter-gatherer societies, big-game hunting was only auxiliary with the main source of food being gathering activities, which were performed by women and children. In addition, some feminist have found evidence suggesting that not all societies were patriarchal. The tasks performed by both sexes were indispensable to group survival, and both sexes were regarded as equal in status in most aspects. In such societies, sexes were considered to be complementary. Engels in his analysis of subordination described a pre-capitalist society that was egalitarian with a primitive division of labor between the sexes (Reeves, 1987, P.55). The universality of female subordination and Ortner’s thesis Female subordination is universal in that it transcends every type of social and economic arrangement in societies of every degree of complexity. Ortner argues that the cultural logic behind the assumption of female inferiority is so highly persuasive that people inevitably subscribe to it. For example, in China, the ideology of Taoism equates both yin (the female principle) and yang (the male principle). The opposition or the interaction and alteration of these two forces influence all the phenomena in the universe. Based on this principle, one would assume that males and females are universally valued in the ideology of Chinese culture. However, looking at the social structure, one observes the strongly emphasized patrilineal descent principle, advocating the importance of sons and the absolute authority of fathers in the family. Thus, we can conclude that China is the archetypical patriarchal society (Ortner, 1974, P.69). Considering the actual roles played, power and influence wielded, and the material contributions made by women in Chinese society, which are quite substantial one would observe that women are allotted a high status in the system. For instance, the goddess Kuan Yin is the prominent deity, in terms of worship and depiction, in Chinese Buddhism. Thus, in reference to goddess-worshiping in China, like most prehistoric and early historical societies, is a form of matriarchy (Ortner, 1974, P.69). Ortner asserts that in her investigation of cultures, she found women to be subordinate to men in every known society. For example, among the matrilineal Crow society, women had highly honorific offices in the Sun Dance. They could become directors of the Tobacco Ceremony and played a more conspicuous part in it than men. They could sometimes play hostess in the Cooked Meet Festival, and were not debarred from sweating, doctoring or from seeking a vision. However, during menstruation, women rode inferior horses as this was a perceived source of contamination. In addition, women in this state could not approach wounded men nor men starting a war party neither could they go near sacred objects (Ortner, 1974, P.69). Further, before enumeration to participation in the above rituals, women were prohibited from unwrapping one particular Sun Dance Doll bundle. In any case, the doll owned by Wrinkled-face took precedence over other dolls and all other Crow medicines and could not be handled by a woman. In summary, the Crow society gave women certain powers and rights some of which placed them in fairly high positions. Yet, a line was drawn demonizing menstruation as a threat to warfare, which was one of the most valued institutions of the tribe and central to their self-definition. Therefore, both the most sacred object and institution of the tribe were taboo to the direct sight and touch of women. In relation to biological differences, the differences only take significance of superiority or inferiority within the framework of culturally defined value systems. Since genetic determinism fails to demonstrate any justifiable reason for subordination, female subordination must be interpreted in light of other universal factors. These factors are built into the structure of the most generalized situations in which all human beings of all cultures find themselves. Therefore, in the realms of the universals of the human condition, an explanation for the universal fact of female devaluation has to be sought (Ortner, 1974, P.69). Every culture engages in a process of generating and sustaining systems of meaningful forms such as symbols and artifacts by means of which humanity exploits the needs of natural existence, moulds them to its purpose and controls them in its interests. Thus, culture can be equated to the notion of human consciousness or with products of human consciousness by means of which humans try to assert control over the nature. Rituals are an attempt by humans to act on and regulate the givens of natural existence. In ritual, humans purposely manipulate the important forms of nature towards regulating and sustaining order. Every culture asserts that proper relations between human existence and natural forces, depends on culture employing its inherent powers to control the overall processes of nature (Ortner, 1974, P.69). In reference to women, the cultural second-class status accorded to them can be attributed to the fact that women are identified or symbolically associated with nature as opposed to men who are identified with culture. Since culture’s role is to subsume and transcends nature and women are considered to be part of nature, then culture finds it appropriate to subordinate women (Mandelbaum, 1993, p. 6). In essence, women are seen to be closer to nature than men. Culture though equated with men, recognizes that women are active players in its processes, and at the same time it sees them as being more rooted in nature. This provides a basis for relegating women to subordinate status relative to men (Ortner, 1974, P.69). The relativity of subordination Engels argues that patriarchy began with the development of private property. When private property arose, men wanted to retain power and property so that their children could inherit it. To guarantee this inheritance, mother-right was overthrown. To establish the right of the father to own property, women had to be domesticated and their sexual activities regulated and controlled. It is in this period that patriarchy and monogamy for women were established. In his view, gender inequality was not universal but arose under particular socio-historic conditions (Lerner, 1986, P.25). Other anthropologists reject universal subordination of women in light of the fact that subordination and domination arise contextually, and women are not subordinate in all situations, in society. Thus, women can exercise influence in the domestic domain while men can do the same in the public domain. The manner in which gender is socially set up in a society is linked to the religious and kinship organisation of the society. Though both kinship and religion are not a privileged site of gendered relations, both tend to strongly influence the characteristics of gender differences or inequalities which exist in a society at a given time (Lerner, 1986, P.25). Religion almost universally naturalizes gender inequalities treating them as inborn. Women are treated as inferior to men both mentally and physically, while men are treated the natural human beings of whom women are a deviation. At the same time, many religious worldviews demonstrate an ambiguity towards women. One practice treats women as inferior and dangerous while the other venerates them. For instance, in Hinduism, women are equated to animals and, on the other hand, they are worshiped as goddesses (Lerner, 1986, P.25). There are varying consequences of different religious worldviews for gender relations. Some religions promote a very strict segregation between the sexes while others may curtail women’s reproductive rights. This is manifested in practices such as seclusion or in laws forbidding abortion. The practice of alienating women is common in most religious systems. Several religions treat women’s bodies as impure and defiling, thereby, excluding them from many spheres of social life. Such beliefs and the consequential practices have severe implications for relations between men and women and also for the life chances of women. On most occasions, the curtailment of reproductive rights disadvantage women far more than men, thereby, promoting gender inequality. Many such repressive religious views permeate secular world views and shape gender relations and identities even in modern contexts (Hogan and Masse, 2010, P.64). The kinship organisation of a society determines gender relations and roles in most societies. The descent system can be matrilineal, patrilineal or bilateral, and each has major implications on the construction of gender identities and relations in a society. This is because the descent system forms as the basis of group membership, entitlement to valued resources, ownership of property and patterns of residence. Patrilineal societies are the most suppressive to women as they tend to make conspicuous differences between the sexes (Lerner, 1986, P.25). In patrilineal systems, descent is reckoned in the male line and women move to their husband’s home after marriage. In such systems, there is a high value placed on the male offspring and men usually inherit property. Women are treated as temporary members of their natal households while their incorporation into their husband’s households is fraught with uncertainties. The descent system is often incorporated into the culture of the society as observed in the temporariness of a woman’s relation. This concept is exemplified by Leela Dube in the study of Indian folklore where the motive of many religious celebrations was to enact the brief return of a daughter to her matrimonial home (Lerner, 1986, P.25). Patrilineal societies place a high premium on female chastity leading to strict vigilance on female sexuality. Seclusion of women is also an inherent part of the complex institutions which aims to control female sexuality. In stratified and heterogeneous societies, this can result in restriction of women’s choice in matters of marriage and employment (Lerner, 1986, P.25). Matrilineal societies, though not very prevalent, are not mirror images of patrilineal societies. This is because women in matrilineal societies do not occupy the same positions occupied by men in patriarchies. For instance, among the Kerala and Khasi of India, men continue to hold important positions in their mothers’ households. In most matrilineal societies, the brother-sister unit is as important as the husband-wife unit with lack of conjugal residence common in such societies. Men occasionally visit their wives to sustain the marriage while they continue to reside with their mother’s/sister’s kin (Lerner, 1986, P.25). Matrilineal societies, on the other hand, are open to sharing property with men but are not willing to share the same with men’s children of the same matrilineal group. They do not value chastity and virginity in a manner comparable to patrilineal societies. Therefore, women in matrilineal societies access more sexual freedom than those of patrilineal societies. For example, Nayar women in India enjoy relationships with several visiting husbands, a practice which would be associated with prostitution in most patrilineal societies (Lerner, 1986, P.25). Conclusion Most societies adopt a patrilineal system of organisation which renders women subordinate to men at varying levels. However, matrilineal societies exist though marginally and most are less repressive to women. Female subordination is prevalent around the world and is rooted in tradition where people seek to sustain the status quo as the natural course of life. This assertion is further strengthened by religion which upholds the superiority of men. Finally, the level of subordination or lack of it can be attributed to religious and kinship systems that prevail in a society. Bibliography Ciotlau?, S. (2010). Questioning women’s subordination: cross-cultural insights from anthropology. Journal of comparative research in anthropology and sociology, 1(1): 163- 174. Hogan, K. & Masse, M. (2010). Over ten million served: gendered service in language and literature workplaces. Albany: State University of New York Press. Lerner, G. (1986). The creation of patriarchy. New York: Oxford University Press. Mandelbaum, D. (1993). Women's seclusion and men's honor: sex roles in north India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Ortnet, S. (1974). Is female to male as nature is to culture? In M. Z. Rosaldo and L. Lamphere (eds), Woman, culture, and society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Reeves, P. (1987). Female power and male dominance: on the origins of sexual inequality. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. Read More